Before leaving Hotel Savegre, we went up to the Mirador in the reserve one last time and I performed and recorded a Shito-Ryu Kata (Matsukaze), to send to the dojo according to our tradition of sharing a kata video from every trip abroad. The road to the airport was uneventful. Returning the car was swift, […]
Los Quetzales (August 12-14)
Around 2:30 am on Tuesday, August 12, I was woken by the noise of a tropical thunderstorm – the rain was hitting our roof, and the thunders rumbled like bombs. I watched the storm, which also woke Lilach and Daniel up at some point, until suddenly, within a minute, the rain stopped and everything was […]
Corcovado (August 10-11)
On Sunday (August 10), we had the pleasure of seeing the macaws we missed at Carara on the trees right across our cabin’s yard. After a relaxing day, we took an afternoon drive to a nearby beach (the road to which was a rather challenging and steep 4×4 trail). We returned near sunset, wet and […]
Uvita and the way to Corcovado (August 8-9)
Friday, 8.8, we went on a very successful whale-watching trip! We saw 4 large female humpback whales, each with a small calf by her side, and also a pod of tropical dolphins. More than once, when we got close to one of these mother-cub dyads, I would see a whale surfacing close to the boat […]
Manuel Antonio (August 5-7)
We arrived at the apartment in Manuel Antonio on Monday night in a pouring rain, after a traffic jam of about half an hour due to an accident on the main road. The morning forecast had called for a very rainy day, but that didn’t really happen. In any case, we dedicated the morning to […]
From Monteverde to Manuel Antonio (August 3-4)
Sunday, August 3rd, was very rainy. In the morning, Lilach and I hiked in the cloud forest reserve. We started the trail in a light rain and ended it in a light rain, with a couple of hours of moderate to heavy rain in between. We didn’t dare take our binoculars or camera out of […]
Monteverde (August 2)
The morning was very rainy, and we stayed in the cabin, playing and sorting photos until noon, when we all headed out to the nearby Curi Cancha reserve for a two-hour walk. We heard some birds, but saw relatively few, and mostly enjoyed the forest. A cute Agouti – a large, tailless rodent – was […]
Rio Celeste (August 1)
We left La Fortuna early and set out for our next destination – Monteverde. On the way, we stopped at the Rio Celeste reserve, where two rivers meet and create an interesting hydrological phenomenon. At the rivers’ confluence, the water’s pH changes, causing crystalline mineral particles carried by one of the rivers to grow very […]
Birds, monkeys and another snake! (July 31)
We woke up early and went out to the balcony to the sound of birds. And indeed, there were quite a few in sight including several large black vultures. One of them shared a nearby tree with a Yellow-throated Toucan. Lilach, Daniel and I headed out before 7, for an early morning a swim in […]
Waterfall trip and our first snake (July 30)
In the early afternoon, we visited the beautiful La Fortuna waterfall, which has about 500 steps leading down to it, and even swam in the river’s water. Before starting the descent, we saw two toucans (of two different species – Keel-billed and Yellow-throated) and a nice Violet-headed hummingbird, but couldn’t get good photos of any […]
Butterflies and hanging bridges (July 29)
Leaving Tamar to sleep late as she wished, Lilach, Daniel and I left the apartment in the early morning to go to a nearby “butterfly dome”, where hundreds of beautiful butterflies hovered around and challenged us to take their pictures. In the gardens around the dome we saw, in addition to butterflies, some hummingbirds and […]
From Tortuguero to La Fortuna (July 28)
During breakfast, we learned that the phone of our German friend hasn’t really returned to life, and that he couldn’t get a new one in the village. Nevertheless, he seemed to remain in high spirits. Near the dock, we saw a young male striped basilisk (Basiliscus vittatus) and after I followed it to a pile […]
Tortuguero (July 27)
We set out at 5:30 AM for a canoe trip on the rivers and canals of the reserve, wearing a set of dry cloths. They didn’t stay dry for long. Once again, we were treated to pouring rain for most of the trip. Still, we saw quite a few water birds (including an anhinga that […]
From Guápiles to Tortuguero (July 26)
We woke up naturally on Saturday at 5:30 and discovered that our cabin sits right on the edge of a gorge with a stream flowing at its bottom. The rainforest, of course, grows right on the edges of the steep gorge. After another tour of the garden, a descent down steep stairs to the stream, […]
Landing in Costa Rica (July 25)
After a night in Madrid, we landed in San Jose, Costa Rica, and quickly made it to the Budget counter, only to discover that the 4×4 SUV we had ordered well in advance was not waiting for us. The agent said that they ran out of cars, and since this was not a prepaid reservation […]
Rainy birds and fireflies (August 11-12)
In the early morning, Lilach and I went out to tour the grounds, and heard many more birds than we saw. Particularly noisy were flocks of pretty large birds, with what looked like a necklace on their chests, that turned out to be very aptly named greater necklaced laughingthrushes. We tried to photograph them, but […]
Hua Hin to Kaeng Krachan (August 10)
After a good breakfast and a morning dip in the pool (for Daniel) we drove a short distance to the nearby Mangrove boardwalk by the shore. We learned about the different species of mangroves that occupy distinct ecological niches and form easily distinguishable floral communities that differ in the shape of the roots, the structure […]
Hua Hin (August 8-9)
After one more fabulous breakfast in Rai Lung Tuy, we headed back to Kui Buri National Park, aiming to get there around 2pm this time. On the way we stopped for lunch at a roadside restaurant shed, where our table on the raised balcony overlooked a large rabbit enclosure. On the approach to the park […]
Pratchuap Kiri Khan (August 6-7)
We enjoyed a late wake up, and prepared breakfast using the excellent eggs and fruit our hosts left us, reinforced with some more fruit we had bought ourselves. A movement in the trees behind the breakfast table revealed a creature that looked very much like a squirrel. On closer examination, the pointed nose and the […]
The long ride (August 5)
On the long ride to Prachuap Khiri Khan, there are lots of fruit stands along the road. We stop at a colorful one, and discover it sells seafood… I decide to try one of the large crabs, and they prepare it for me on the spot. When I explain that I don’t wish to take […]
Lake trip (august 4)
During breakfast, I have to rush back to the room to get the camera, for the real feast is happening at the bird feeders next to our breakfast table, with beautiful flowerpeckers coming to feed off the bananas on offer. The owner, seeing our interest, shows us an active nest of a tailorbird in the […]
Elephants (August 3)
While the others were still asleep, Lilach went out for a morning walk and saw a lesser fish eagle and several macaque monkies on the trees by the other river bank. After a morning visit to the shallow river pools and breakfast, Daniel and I saw some movement in the trees by the bungalow, and […]
Khao Luang to Khao Sok (August 2)
Another bag of mangosteen awaited us on the balcony, and while Lilach and I did some birdwatching from the balcony, Tamar went down for a tour and came back with a bunch of Rambutan. We said farewell to our generous hosts, this time for real, and headed in the direction of our next destination – Khao […]
Khao Luang (August 1)
Not knowing where we’ll spend the next morning, we said farewell to our hosts, and were given a bag full of freshly picked mangosteen from the trees in the orchard for the way. On our way out, we had a short walk around the orchard, where we saw several fence lizards (Calotes versicolor) and a […]
The road to Khao Luang (July 31)
Since we informed our kind hostess that apart from me everyone prefers a vegetarian breakfast, the one we were served on the second day was lacking meats, but even grander in any other respect. We took leave of Ooy Le House, and headed towards our rendezvous with the dolphins. On the dirt road leading to […]
Khanom (July 29-30)
After an early breakfast, we boarded the truck for the transfer to Thong Sala pier, where we had seats booked with Lomprayah Ferries back to Koh Samui. While waiting on the pier for boarding, I looked for the cellular router we were relying on for our communication, and couldn’t find it. I remembered intending to […]
Bottle Beach (July 25-28)
A couple of minutes before 6am, we were already downstairs, waiting for the taxi driver to come pick us up to the airport. I sent him an sms, and when there was no response also called him. He sounded rather sleepy… The nice girl at the reception took the phone and spoke to the driver. […]
Bangkok (July 22-24)
We woke up late to a warm, sunny morning. Tamar stayed in bed while we went down for breakfast, and remained in bed for quite a while afterwards. Eventually It was decided that Lilach and Daniel would go to the nearby temple (Rajanaddaram Worawihan), where Tamar and I will join them shortly. Unfortunately, when we […]
The long way out (July 20-21)
This time, it would be different! With this in mind, we decided long before the trip that, for a change, we would prepare well in advance and avoid the pre-trip stress. Indeed, we booked our flights almost six months in advance, and made advance plans and reservations for the first two hotels and for the […]
Homeward Bound (October 17-19)
Packing for the flight back continued in the morning, while the kids went to the playground again. The new suitcase proved very useful, and the fresh bread we bought the day before was turned into heaps of sandwiches. These, together with other food items packed for the long flights, filled a whole daypack. We left the campsite […]
Myall Lakes (October 15-16)
October 15 For the second day in a row, we woke up to the sounds of nearby activity. Peeping through the curtains, we discovered that the tranquil rest area was transformed overnight to a hub of frenzied activity. Large trucks were unloading equipment all around the grass, and people were setting up booths for what […]
Koalas: The Search Continues (October 13-14)
October 13 Before leaving Warrumbungle, we took a pleasant walk in the sloping grassland near the campsite. The weather was nice, and the terrain very easy, and we enjoyed the views and the flowers. Among the highlights found under rocks were an Eastern Stone Gecko (Diplodactylus vittatus) and a couple of small scorpions. After a while […]
Warrumbungle (October 10-12)
October 10 Tamar spent the morning preparing wreathes from small wild flowers she collected around the campsite. Lilach and I made ourselves less colorful (but much more visible) ones from long strands of some flowering climber. Adorned with our garlands, we took a group picture at the top of Moonbi Lookout before continuing to Warrumbungle. […]
Dorrigo (October 8-9)
October 8 The kids spent some time at the nearby playground, while we got the caravan ready to move. Our first stop was several hundred meters up the way, on the headland overlooking the bay, where we were told there was a chance to see some dolphins and whales. We didn’t see any dolphins, but […]
Bundjalung to Woolgoolga (October 7)
In the morning we reexamined our surroundings, and found that we were very close to the seashore, with a large Banksia-covered sand dune in between. We watched the Bee-Eaters, Fairy-Wrens and Honeyeaters feeding on and among the Banksias, and heard from a nice woman from Sydney whose family has been there all week that the […]
In search of Koalas (October 6)
In the morning, Tamar and Lilach went to the local water park, while Daniel and I enjoyed exploring the site’s laundry facilities. The girls returned from the pool excited, and informed us that it is home to a large family of water dragons. We all went to the pool, and picked one of the large […]
Birds, Birds, Birds! (October 2-5)
October 2 When we tried to fill our water tank in the morning, we discovered that we left the tap adapter of our hose in Hervey Bay. We found a temporary solution for filling the tank, but it meant that our first stop that day would be at a hardware store. Luckily, there was a […]
Brisbane (October 1)
In the morning, Lilach and Daniel walked around the small park, and found a Miner hatchling at the base of a large ficus tree, with several adult family members fussing around it. It looked like the hatchling fell off the nest before it learned to fly properly, and now everyone was trying to keep it […]
Hervey Bay to Brisbane (September 30)
Tamar started the morning with a sewing session, repairing the whale which suffered a breached stomach. We said goodbye to the beach, then spent some time sorting the shells that the kids collected, in an attempt to keep only one or two samples of each type. This turned out to be a rather enjoyable and non-trivial task. […]
Paradise Beach (September 27-29)
Our main break in the long drive back from Carnarvon was at a café called the Big Giraffe in the small town of Bororen, on the Bruce Highway. In addition to the huge Giraffe statue in the front, the place featured many other animal statues, all for sale. But its main attraction for us was […]
Family Trips 